On ya bike to Laos

VIENTIANE, 28 January 2019: The world’s top ultracyclers will descend on Laos, 20 to 24 May, for Round 3 of the 2019 BikingMan World Championship on a course covering 780-km paved-and-gravel roads over the country’s challenging forested mountain ridges in northeast Laos.

The BikingMan series follows an unassisted
ultracycling format. Riders must find their own food, water, accommodation, and
way ahead. No support vehicles follow them. Only two checkpoints log them in,
though GPS monitors their progress and roadside marshals standby for rider
safety and security.

Local riders are encouraged to compete.
“The BikingMan series is mainly targeted at building awareness
in…cycling-enthusiastic regions to boost the local market and attract locals,”
said BikingMan founder Axel Carion. “Hence my goal is to attract local athletes
and not just “international people.”

He added, “A BikingMan race is a total
challenge, where all riders, even the experienced, have to go beyond their
limits and manage their efforts to reach the finish line.” And the Lao course
fits BikingMan’s vision of “Explore, Endure, Empower”.

The first leg kicks off from the UNESCO
World Heritage town of Luang Prabang and heads north along the Mekong and Nam
Ou Rivers. Axel said the rolling hills present a good “warm up” before a few
short, steep climbs through Muang Xay. The road then gradually descends south
through Oudomxay to the first checkpoint at Pakbeng.

Leg 2, heads east across northern
Sayabouly’s mountains. The terrain levels off as the circuit cuts north.
However, a sharp right turn onto a rough road leads to the monstrous “Kasi
Climb” in Vientiane Province. The ascent leaps about .9 km in elevation to
1,238 metres in around 25 km.

This stretch “was definitely a
life-changing experience,” Axel said after a reconnaissance run. “As we were
exploring on the bumpy tarmac…we took the gravel experience to the next level
and literally explored the jungle.”

The final leg to Luang Prabang starts with
a sharp descent, before slamming into Route 13’s mountain range with summits
reaching 1,400 metres. A steep descent after the final peak ends with a
relatively smooth spin to the finish line.

Meanwhile, bikepackers and motobikers are
already exploring sections of the circuit, and Lao tour operators are eying the
routes and the country’s potential for adventure travel experiences.

“I believe the event will have a broad
repercussion on the promotion of Laos tourism and not just on the cycling
segment,” said Sanctuary Hotels and Resorts sales & marketing manager
Melissa Woolley on behalf of the official race village and host of Checkpoint 1

“Laos may be recognised as a land where
sporting events can be undertaken and the spot to combine ultimate activities
with discoveries and adventures,” she said.

We Are Lao managing director John Morris
Williams stated, “The impact for Luang Prabang and Lao tourism will be huge.
This is a top event for the country’s calendar.”

We Are Lao is supporting the event as a
media sponsor.

The 2019 BikingMan World Champion is adding
Laos and Portugal to its growing series, and the future appears bright.

“I have four to five other locations on the
radar, with 2018’s finishers working on different race courses,” said
Axel.

“In the long term, we want races to be run
locally by a company,” he said, which is already happening in Laos.

BikingMan Laos falls under the umbrella of
locally owned Green Discovery Laos (GDL), the country’s leading eco-adventure
company founded by Inthy Deuansavanh nearly 20 years ago.

Inthy is no stranger to organising and
entering extreme events, having competed in ironman competitions and ran up
front at the 1,659-km South 2 North Charity Marathon held in in Laos during
October 2018.

Inthy will likely show up at the starting
line at the first BikingMan Laos, as may Axel, who entered the Guinness World
Record Book with Andreas Fabricius for “The Fastest time to cycle the length of
South America (Cartagena to Ushuaia) by a team of two in 49 days, 23 hours and
43 minutes.”